Dog_Horse_Girl

She was...I used to call her my 'model'! I miss her every day...and I visit her grave most days...talk to her...remember her silliness.

Gorgeous! I'd have to buy more than one though...how do you decide on only one when they're so beautiful?

Just two of the many pictures I have of Lilly...I'm gathering stones to build a cairn over her grave.

This is my first post in a while. I'm really sad to post that my beloved greyhound, Lilly was PTS and passed peacefully on the morning of Friday 8 March 2013. She is buried in the small paddock at the back of my house. It was the most difficult decision but she was no longer enjoying life even though she was not in any pain...she just lost her zing and I knew it was time. Lilly, you were a goofy, silly, crazy, often brainless hound. You had a ridiculous sense of fun and humour. Doing zoomies was your favourite thing. So was finding the most comfy place to rest - usually my bed. And snuggling. You really didn't like water, puddles were almost torture...and yet you'd spend hours digging in soft dirt just for fun. You changed a lot over the years. When you came home, I remember you wouldn't come near my bedroom, preferring to sleep at the other end of the house, stretched out on the lounge. Slowly but surely you got closer to the bedroom until you slept right outside the door. And eventually, you not only moved into the room, but you took over the bed too! So what did I do? Of course I got a bigger bed and you spread out even more. I'll always remember my one and only greyhound. I can never have another...as much as I love the breed, there will never be another Lilly. It was the best $15 I ever spent in rescuing her... I love you Lilly, run free, and go get that bunny!

I currently have four, and Zoe is only a very recent addition. They're aged 13, 12, 10 and 4. Lilly and Ruby (the two elder dogs) won't be here much longer. I've already decided that Lilly needs to have her wings this month as she's just not enjoying life much. Her appetite is down, she's losing weight, her incontinence is no longer treatable, she has trouble standing up and keeps getting eye infections. I'm dreading the day because in her good moments, she's the goofy greyhound I adopted all those years ago. But those good moments are fewer and further between now.

My dogs are no longer "routinely" vaccinated. They're 13, almost 13, 10 and 4 yrs of age. They only ever got KC when they were boarded and that was after having the two strains of vaccine. The youngest dog was the sickest but even so was better within 10 days and all she needed was a bit of cough mixture and extra attention. I won't take them somewhere if a pre-requisite is having them vaccinated. I no longer need to use boarding kennels as I have family around the corner who can mind them. My belief is that kennels may request vaccinations just to cover their own arses rather than for any concern over my particular dogs' health and welfare. That's JMO...I could be wrong. :)

Here's my fairy...everyone who has seen it loves it...even strangers comment on how pretty she is!

These days it's just me...with the ex it was always crowded but not any more. :D And Molly takes up almost no space, it's Ruby that stretches out ACROSS the bed so she uses up as much space as possible...and I often awake to find her rear end in my face...literally.

Yay for a happy and positive update...good on you Nek for helping...you are a true dog-star!

I've now got 4 dogs... Ruby (stafford cross) sleeps on my bed because she's old and arthritic and she's always slept on my bed. Lilly (greyhound) sleeps in her bed/s in the kitchen. The main reason is that she gets up during the night and wanders around every hour or so. That activity wakes me up so the kitchen is just far enough away that I don't hear her every time. She has more than one bed so can swap beds as often as she wants. Molly (chi cross) started off in a crate beside my bed but she didn't like it and was restless and whiny so she very quickly got promoted to my bed; she sleeps under the covers most of the night. Zoe (chi cross) is in a wire crate beside my bed for the night, then in the morning she comes up on the bed for a cuddle. All the dogs were adopted as adults so had experience in other homes before mine. :)

Survey completed.

Oh what a happy story that could have been so different for BeeBee...I also love her little flag! She must bring a lot of happiness to the home, its staff and residents.

Received a lovely sympathy card from our vet yesterday. It features a white horse with wings...and the horse resembles Flossie...brought me to tears for the first time.

Yes, I think even being cared for by someone else for the time the OP is at work is going to put enormous stress on this poor dog. I certainly wouldn't be considering it as an option because I'd be far too worried about the dog's well-being and behaviour in my absence. It's setting the dog up for potentially even more "failure" IMO. I completely agree. Sometimes, no matter what we do, an anxiety problem is too severe for the dog to overcome sufficiently to have a reasonable quality of life. It's never going to be an easy decision for us. I've got two elderly dogs nearing the end of their lives and I know the decision I need to make will be so very difficult BUT when the time comes, I'll make it for THEM. I have to be unselfish for them no matter how much it will hurt me. I've had a dog with mid-level SA and it's horrible for them. DAP helped her enough that I eventually weaned her from it but it took about 3 yrs to get to that point. I doubt I could have coped with the levels of anxiety you're describing. Whatever decisions you make, I wish you strength and wisdom. And I'll be here for you if you PTS...you'll need support and understanding.

Thanks all. Zoe has settled in so quickly and easily, it's like she's always been here. She and Molly were crated today (I have a giant breed soft crate) in my bathroom as it was the coolest part of the house and they clearly got along well. I left them with just a bed and a water bowl (+ a puppy pad, just in case) and they were so good together. I'll see how they are at sharing toys when I'm here to supervise and if that goes well, they can have some toys while I'm out too. The two big dogs aren't fazed by her at all. Lilly plays with Zoe as she does everyone; Ruby can't really be bothered with a younger dog any more but they're polite enough to each other. Zoe is a great little watch dog too. She's copying Molly to an extent but is also sending out alert barks when she thinks it's appropriate. She also quiets down when told. :D Am definitely keeping her...just have to break the news to my bank balance! :p Seriously though - she came with enough food for a month and she'll be desexed at the previous owner's expense. I'll have a wellness check done at the same time just to make sure there are no serious issues and check her microchip. :)